President Trump will impose a 25% tariff on imports from Japan and South Korea starting August 1.
SAN DIEGO — President Donald Trump is set to impose a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, starting August 1st. This move could potentially lead to price increases on a range of products if the costs are passed on to consumers.
“You got to look at what we are importing from these countries and I think your food prices are gonna be fine right, so ramen prices are not gonna go up too much that said, you know we import a lot of electronics a lot of machinery, computers, automobiles a lot of high technology goods from Japan South Korea, so I think that’s where we’re gonna see some increase prices,” said Hisham Foad, an Economics Professor at San Diego State University.
The Associated Press reports that both South Korea’s Trade Ministry and Japan’s Prime Minister have indicated plans to pursue negotiations with the United States before the August 1st deadline.
“You might see, if it looks like those tariffs are in fact gonna go into place, you might see prices start to go up as people start to anticipate this. You might have a little bit of a run on some products in stores because people wanna buy them before the prices go up so you might face some shortages people are concerned that the prices are gonna go up but I think that would be the extent of it” Foad said.
Some consumers are already reacting to the news. San Diego County resident Emi Douglas, who recently visited Japan and Korea, has stocked up on kitchen supplies during Amazon Prime deals. “Japan made knives are really good, well made,” said Douglas.
While Douglas expressed mixed feelings about the potential tariffs, she said, “I’m not happy about it, but I kinda understand what the president is also doing. It’s for Americans as well. You know for the jobs and stuff I’m not either or.”
As negotiations continue, the situation remains fluid, and changes could occur before the August 1st implementation date. Consumers are advised to stay informed about potential price impacts on products imported from Japan and South Korea.